Prudent Food Storage

The wise store up choice food and olive oil, but fools gulp theirs down. - Proverbs 21:20

Section 6 Resources
C. Electronic



C. ELECTRONIC

C.1 INFORMATION SOURCES


Food Preservation & Storage, General Cooking


National Center for Home Food Preservation
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/index.html


"The National Center for Home Food Preservation is your source for current research-based recommendations for most methods of home food preservation."  Look in the publications area for such works as the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning and links to many states cooperative extension web sites leading to even more useful information.


Utah State University Cooperative Extension Service
http://extension.usu.edu/cooperative/publications/


The publications pages of the Utah State University Cooperative Extension Service web site. Many of the best cooperative extension works on food storage can be found here. A definite must for anyone interested in food preservation or storage.


Walton Feed's Self Reliance/Information Area
http://waltonfeed.net/self/


The how-to area of the Walton Feed site. Information about food production, preservation and storage, nutrition, storage planning, grain mill comparisons, and more.


HomeCanning.com
http://www.homecanning.com


Altrista manufactures the Ball, Kerr, and Bernardin lines of home canning supplies. Much good information on boiling water bath and pressure canning of all kinds of foods.


CountryLife.net
http://countrylife.net


Articles and discussion forums about baking, grains, fermented milk products, edible wild plants and more.


Bread World
http://www.breadworld.com


The Fleischmann Yeast web site. Great information on baking and yeast topics.


Rec.food.preserving FAQ
www.gbronline.com/jacke/rfpfaq/rfpFAQ.htm#toc


A companion FAQ to this one. What I don't cover here Jack Eddington does and vice-versa. Very much worth your time if you are interested in food preservation.


Rec.food.cooking FAQ and conversion file
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/rec.food.cooking http://vsack.bei.t-online.de/rfc_faq.html Easier to navigate versio


From the FAQ - "The primary purpose of this document is to help cooks from different countries communicate with one another. The problem is that measurements and terms for food vary from country to country, even if both countries speak English." Even if you don't plan to cross so much as a county line this FAQ is worth reading. Many sometimes confusing food terms are made clear.


The ftp site also carries the Chocolate FAQ.


Rec.food.sourdough
http://www.nyx.net/~dgreenw/sourdoughfaqs.html ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/rec.food.sourdough/


A number of FAQs and files for sourdough breads. Much in-depth knowledge here.


rec.food.sourdough FAQ Starter Doctor
rec.food.sourdough FAQ Questions and Answers
rec.food.sourdough FAQ Recipes (part 1 of 2)
rec.food.sourdough FAQ Recipes (part 2 of 2)
rec.food.sourdough FAQ Basic Bread


Meat Smoking and Curing FAQ
http://www.bbqguide.com/meat_smoking_and_curing_faq.htm http://www.romwell.com/cookbook/Preserve/smoking.shtm


Hasn't been updated in a long time, but the Meat Smoking and Curing FAQ by Richard Thead still has much good information.



Alternative Cooking Methods


International Dutch Oven Society

http://www.idos.com


A large resource of information concerning virtually anything that can be done with a Dutch Oven. If you can bake it in your kitchen you can bake it in a Dutch Oven.


The MacScouter

http://www.macscouter.com



One of the best Scouting (boys and girls) sites around. Click on the cooking directory for some really good information on Dutch Oven and other kinds of camp cooking.


The Solar Cooking Archive

http://solarcooking.org


A major source of information and access to equipment. There are explanations of the physics of how solar cooking works, plans for cookers, commercial suppliers, books, other reading and more. If you're interested in solar you really want to visit this site.


Doug Edwards Solar Cooking site

http://home.earthlink.net/~drduggee/solar.htm


An excellent site with clear photographs of a number of solar cookers. A good links page to many other solar cooking resources. Some interesting crystal radio info as well.


Home Power Magazine

http://www.homepower.com


They frequently run solar articles, including solar cooking. Many of the articles are available for online viewing or you can subscribe.



Food Safety


U.S. Food and Drug Administration Bad Bug Book

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/intro.html


The FDA's Bad Bug Book. Using information compiled from the FDA, CDC and other sources it provides basic facts regarding foodborne pathogenic microorganisms and natural toxins. A good source of information if you're looking for details on food borne pathogens and how to prevent or control them.


National Food Safety Database

http://www.foodsafety.gov/

http://foodsafety.ifas.ufl.edu/indexNFSDB.htm


A large source of food-safety information of all kinds.


Food Safety Answers.Org

http://www.foodsafetyanswers.org/


A pilot project of the Iowa State University Extension service to help provide answers to common food safety questions and to provide an interactive resource with the input from experts from industry, academia, associations, and the Federal government.



Disaster Preparedness. Mitigation, Relief


Federal Emergency Management Agency

http://www.fema.gov/library/prepandprev.shtm    Preparation and Prevention
http://www.fema.gov/library/dizandemer.shtm    Disasters and Emergencies
http://www.fema.gov/library/respandrecov.shtm   Response and Recovery
http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/cert/   Community Emergency Response Teams
http://www.fema.gov/kids/   FEMA for Kids
http://www.fema.gov/help/site.shtm    Site Index (better than their search engine)

The FEMA site with files and publications on disaster preparedness, post disaster response, mitigation and more. A good starting place to begin learning. Many will find preparedness literature more palatable if it comes with a Federal agency's name on it and this is the place to get it. Be sure to investigate the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) materials. Your tax dollars went to pay for this stuff, you should use it.


Table of Contents


Acknowledgements & Foreword


Section 1 - Shelf Lives


  1. Time, Temperature, Moisture, Oxygen and Light

Section 2 - Foods


  1. Common Storage Foods

A. Grains & legumes


  1. Grains & Grain Products
  2. Legumes
  3. Availability of Grains and Legumes
  4. Storing Grains and Legumes

B. Dairy Products


  1. Dry Milks
  2. Canned Fluid Milks and Creams
  3. Butter
  4. Cheese

C. Eggs


  1. Dry Eggs

D. Sugar, Honey and Other Sweeteners


  1. Granulated Sugars
  2. Honey
  3. Cane Syrups
  4. Corn Syrup
  5. Maple Syrup

E. Fats and Oils


  1. Buying & Storing Oils and Fats
  2. Extending Shelf Life By Adding Anti-Oxidants

F. Cooking Adjuncts


  1. Baking Powder
  2. Baking Soda
  3. Herbs & Spices
  4. Salt
  5. Vinegar
  6. Yeast

G. Infant Formula


  1. Alternatives to Breastfeeding
  2. Selecting and Feeding An Infant Formula
  3. Storing Infant Formulas and Baby Foods

H. MREs - Meals, Ready to Eat


  1. U.S. Military MREs
  2. U.S. Civilian MREs
  3. British/Canadian MREs
  4. Other Self-Heating Ready To Eat Type Products

I. Ration Bars


  1. Ration Bars

Section 3 - Specific Equipment Questions


A. Storage Containers


  1. What is Food Grade Packaging?
  2. Plastic Packaging
  3. Metal Cans
  4. Glass Jars
  5. Mylar Bags
  6. Reusing or Recycling Packaging

B. CO2 and Nitrogen


  1. Dry Ice
  2. Compressed Nitrogen

C. Vacuum Sealing


  1. Vacuum Sealing Considerations

D. Freeze Treating


  1. Freeze Treating

E. Oxygen Absorbers


  1. What Is an Oxygen Absorber?
  2. How Are Oxygen Absorbers Used?

F. Moisture in Packaging and Food Storage


  1. Why Moisture is Important
  2. What Is A Desiccant?
  3. Types of Desiccants
  4. How Do I Use Desiccants?
  5. Where Do I Find Desiccants?

G. Diatomaceous Earth


  1. What is Diatomaceous Earth?
  2. Where Do I Find DE and What Type Should I Buy?
  3. How Do I Use DE in Food Storage?

Section 4 - Spoilage


A. Insect Infestations


  1. Pests of Stored Grains, Legumes and Dry Foodstuffs
  2. Control of Insect Infestations

B. Molds in Foods


  1. Minimizing Molds
  2. Molds in Canned Goods
  3. Molds in Grains and Legumes

C. Bacterial Spoilage


  1. Botulism

D. Enzymatic Action in Food Spoilage


  1. Enzymatic Action

Section 5 - Shelf Lives


A. Food Product Dates


  1. "Best Used By", "Use By" and Other Food Product Dates

B. Closed Dating


  1. Closed Dating Codes Used by Some Food Manufacturers

C. Shelf Lives


  1. Shelf Lives of Some Common Storage Foods

Section 6 - Resources


A. Books


  1. Books

B. Pamphlets


  1. Pamphlets

C. Electronic-online


  1. Information sources
  2. Software sources

D. Organizations


  1. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - LDS Family Cannery Guidelines

E. Food and Equipment Suppliers


  1. Mail Ordering Storage Foods What You Should Know
  2. Addresses of Suppliers

American Red Cross

http://www.redcross.org/pubs/dspubs/genprep.html    General preparedness materials
http://www.redcross.org/pubs/dspubs/childmatls.html   Materials for children
http://www.redcross.org/pubs/dspubs/cde.html   Community disaster education materials

The Disaster Services portion of the American Red Cross site. Many good how-to type of publications for coping with various natural and man-made disasters can be found here.


IFAS Disaster Handbook

http://disaster.ifas.ufl.edu


The University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) has compiled a Disaster Handbook for many natural and man-made crises. Some excellent information and well worth a look.


Disaster Relief Organization

http://www.disasterrelief.org/Library


Some good preparedness information. The address is case sensitive so make sure to include the capital L.



Water, Sanitation, General Knowledge


The Hesperian Foundation

http://www.hesperian.org


While the Foundation has nothing to do with food, they are the publishers of some important books that anyone with an interest in long-term preparedness should have such as Where There Is No Doctor, Where There Is No Dentist and A Handbook For Midwives among others. You can order them directly from the source.


U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Digital Library

http://155.217.58.58/atdls.htm


Many useful training and field manuals that can be hard to find elsewhere can be found here. I especially recommend FM 21-10 Field Sanitation and Hygiene. This site can be slow at times, so be patient.


La Leche League

http://www.lalecheleague.org


The La Leche League is the oldest and largest breast-feeding education and support group in the world. If you have an interest in feeding a baby the natural way, these are the people to ask for information.


Rec.backcountry Distilled Wisdom Panel 9 - Water Filter Wisdom

ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/rec.backcountry


A good discussion of the hazards of backcountry water, water purification, and water filters as applied in the backcountry. The above address will list all of the rec.backcountry Distilled Wisdom panels - sort by date and find the latest posting of the Water Filter Panel.


FATFREE: The Low Fat Vegetarian Recipe Archive

http://www.fatfree.com


A "low-fat vegetarian" web site. Even if you're not a vegetarian it has one of the best search engines for using the USDA Nutrient Database (food nutrient compositions) that I've found. Do turn your pop-up blocker on.


Henriette's Herbal Homepage

http://metalab.unc.edu/herbmed/


Medicinal and culinary herb FAQs, archives of the medicinal herb, culinary herb, and herb-info lists. More than a thousand plant pictures and a plant name database. One of the oldest and largest herbal information sites on the WWW.


The Food Insects Newsletter

http://www.hollowtop.com/finl_html/finl.html


In case you think you might ever have to.




Updated: 9/18/96; 4/16/97; 7/21/97; 10/20/97; 9/15/98; 11/02/99; 12/01/03


Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2003. Alan T. Hagan. All rights reserved.


Excluding contributions attributed to specific individuals or organizations all material in this work is copyrighted to Alan T. Hagan with all rights reserved. This work may be copied and distributed for free as long as the entire text, mine and the contributor's names and this copyright notice remain intact, unless my prior express permission has been obtained. This FAQ may not be distributed for financial gain, included in commercial collections or compilations, or included as a part of the content of any web site without prior, express permission from the author.


DISCLAIMER: Safe and effective food storage requires attention to detail, proper equipment and ingredients. The author makes no warranties and assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in this text, or damages resulting from the use or misuse of information contained herein. This FAQ is not intended for, nor should it be used in, any commercial food applications.


Placement of or access to this work on this or any other site does not necessarily mean the author espouses or adopts any political, philosophical or metaphysical concepts that may also be expressed wherever this work appears.



Canebrake13